This is Mango. When I got him, I needed another fish like a hole in my head, but sometimes I just can't leave them like I found them in some dumb cup somewhere. You all know what I mean. Anyway, he has been living quite happily on my kitchen counter in his deluxe little filtered/heated 2g flirting with whomever happens to stop to chat with him. Well, my 150g is ready for inhabitants and I thought I would give Mango a chance with my angels. I hope it works out, keeping my fingers crossed. Some angels will make the move this weekend. I wanted to give Mango first dibs at checking things out before some bigger fish show up, in case he's scared or intimidated by them. So, here he is with 150 glorious gallons all to himself. I think he likes it. Now THAT'S a betta cup!
When bettas go to heaven
- Thread starter beckyd
- Start date
I wouldn't do it, Becky. Put the betta with the angels, I mean. I had my son's betta, Gordon in a community tank with the platies and guppies and he was SO stressed the whole time. And that was just with little platies and guppies who left him completely alone the whole time. I don't know about your angels, but I know someone with a pair of angels and they are TERRORS with anything smaller than they are (and they aren't even a breeding pair). Given that bettas are territorial and angels (especially breeding pairs) are territorial, I say mixing the two is looking for trouble. BUT, that's just my two cents!
When I was younger my parents had a tank with just abunch of fish kinda of thrown in(they didn't know what they were doing nor did I), we had 3 angels, 2 bettas, a bunch of guppies, and some other fish I don't remember. What I do remember was when putting the betta in with the angels, the angels freaked and ganged up on both bettas and killed them. It was on 2 seperate occasions, but I remember seeing the angels relentlessly head butting the bettas.
Well, that's kinda crappy for Mango, but not as awful as my first read on this thread - I thought Mango had gone to betta heaven, as in, really, betta 'heaven' like we tell small children when a fish dies.
Becky, do you think you could try it out for a few days as some of the angels are introduced, and monitor closely to see if that mix works? I want to have faith in a tank that big, that they'll all sort it out . . . . 'Cause I'm just naive.
Years ago when the earth was young, I had a 33g with lots of plants and hideyholes and managed to keep two male Siamese Fighting Fish in that same tank!?!!!
Becky, do you think you could try it out for a few days as some of the angels are introduced, and monitor closely to see if that mix works? I want to have faith in a tank that big, that they'll all sort it out . . . . 'Cause I'm just naive.
Years ago when the earth was young, I had a 33g with lots of plants and hideyholes and managed to keep two male Siamese Fighting Fish in that same tank!?!!!
Well, Laura you and I are on the same wavelength. I really don't want Mango to go back to his little tank. He's so happy! I have spruced it up with live plants in case, but I really want this to work. Bottom line is: there is apparently nothing smaller than a pond that will keep the peace with too many angel pairings. Sigh. I am leaning toward getting rid of a few more again. For now, I have introduced 4 female angels to Mango. Aqadvisor was more accurate than we all anticipated. Mango actually went after them a wee bit. He didn't actually nip, but he threatened to. He is much bigger in comparison to them than I had thought. He is a really big eater and is as big as my king betta, who is a fussy eater. I think that will help Mango in this situation. This is no delicate little betta. Once he got over himself, they are all interacting very nicely. I am going to add one more female today. That will have to be my observation group for now, as I am unsure of a few remaining fish's sex. The 55g still has 7 angels, mostly male and things have tamed down in there considerably. Unfortunately, my absolute favorite angel in the bunch is male and I want him in my big tank. He may end up being the only one. And he only gets to stay if he leaves Mango alone. I also want some cardinal tetras in there. They just look so good with the color, the schooling and the size contrast to the angels. I have seen others make this work and that is my goal. I need this tank to be peaceful and if one sex only is going to accomplish that, then that is what it will be.
I would say if it works while the angels are small, then go for it. Once they get bigger, I would taken Mango out, though. He doesn't feel threatened by them now because they're small and are probably afraid of him because he's bigger than they are. Once they get bigger, I doubt if you'll see Mango much.
Also, the depth of that 180gal worries me for Mango. Doomhed has pointed out before that bettas don't do well in deep tanks because their swim bladders aren't made to deal with the higher water pressure, and I've definitely seen a difference in the happiness and activity of my girls from the 22" deep 46gal they were in to the 15" deep 55gal they're in now. Anything over 17" is considered too deep for a betta.
Also, the depth of that 180gal worries me for Mango. Doomhed has pointed out before that bettas don't do well in deep tanks because their swim bladders aren't made to deal with the higher water pressure, and I've definitely seen a difference in the happiness and activity of my girls from the 22" deep 46gal they were in to the 15" deep 55gal they're in now. Anything over 17" is considered too deep for a betta.
I'll keep an eye on him for swim bladder issues. I have heard that about the depth. What do you mean by saying that you have seen a difference. Are they not as active or gotten ill? My angels aren't small. They are 6-8" tall from tip to tip. I was referring to his body size in reference to theirs. They are big fish. He is just not afraid of them. I measured them. Mango is just over 2"long in the body and a good 5" tall and long with his fins. The small angel measure 2" long and 6 "tall. The big ones have 3x3 bodies and 8" fins long and tall. I never realized how big he had gotten by himself. Here he is with them. The tank is cloudy from all my planting and messing this weekend.
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I'd love to hear your reports about how Mango and the angels get along over the next few days. I'm glad to hear that Mango is at least getting a chance 
However, if you introduce that male, he might end up with a spawning harem of female angels, and also if those females have spawned before, they may end up as same-sex spawners, so things could heat up again . . . .
However, if you introduce that male, he might end up with a spawning harem of female angels, and also if those females have spawned before, they may end up as same-sex spawners, so things could heat up again . . . .
The difference I've noticed is in their coloring and in their activity. When they were in the 46gal (granted I had different females in the 46gal...almost all of them fell victim to a severe case of ick...I only have one female leftover from the 46gal), their colors were more washed out and they displayed their stress stripes more often. Now, I hardly ever see stress stripes on anyone unless I'm doing a water change and their colors are just magnificent. As far as activity level goes, when they were in the 46gal they would just hang out in a couple of different places in the tank and only come out and be active at feeding time. Now, I can't even get decent pics of them because they're moving almost all the time.
I had my son's male betta in his 29gal tank with platies and guppies (who left him completely alone all the time) and he was SO stressed out. His coloring still hasn't come back, even though he's now in a divided 10gal with three other male bettas. He was a brilliant royal blue when he was in his little 2gal globe tank...now he looks like someone took an eraser to his body because his color is so washed out.
I had my son's male betta in his 29gal tank with platies and guppies (who left him completely alone all the time) and he was SO stressed out. His coloring still hasn't come back, even though he's now in a divided 10gal with three other male bettas. He was a brilliant royal blue when he was in his little 2gal globe tank...now he looks like someone took an eraser to his body because his color is so washed out.